No matter what challenge a team faces, home cooking always helps out. The Maverick football team got their first victory of the season Saturday as they beat New Mexico Highlands 40-6. The offense and defense fixed all their kinks from the previous two games in front of over 2,000 fans.
“It felt good to get in a rhythm and keep it going,” quarterback Michael Mankoff said. “A lot of that is owed to the offensive line. They did a great job with protection and that breeds a lot of confidence. The wide receivers were making plays, the running backs ran well and we just clicked all day.”
Led by Mankoff, the offense produced 408 total yards, including 210 passing yards from Mankoff, who went 16-26 and a touchdown. His favorite target was Nathan Neville. The redshirt freshman had seven catches for 138 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Zach Adair led the running game for Mesa with 74 yards on 13 carries. His touchdown late in the first quarter began the scoring spree for the Mavs, who scored at least once in every quarter.
After keeping the score close for three quarters, only leading 19-0, the Mavs exploded for 21 points in the fourth quarter.
The season-long quarterback controversy took a different twist. It was no surprise that Mankoff would get the start, but the use of Robert Felberg turned a few heads. Coach Joe Ramunno played Felberg as a wide-receiver for most of the game. The move turned out to be a smart one as Felberg made four catches for 29 yards, one for a touchdown. Felberg also threw six passes, completing three of them for 29 yards.
“The gameplan was to execute and move the ball effectively,” Mankoff said. “We knew he would get some opportunities to make plays and he did a good job when he was in there.”
The defense also played to expectations, allowing only 299 yards of Cowboy offense. New Mexico ran the ball 35 times, but the Mavs defense held strong and only gave up 43 rushing yards. Although the Cowboys had more passing yards than the Mavericks, the Mavs picked the ball off four times and had five turnovers.
“The effort just reminds me of how good our defense is,” defensive end Nainoa Campbell said. “It shows how our entire defensive line can contribute to the whole picture.”
Senior Tony Kelly led the defense with nine total tackles, including a sack. Dominique Lewis also had a sack and seven tackles. William Blevins had a late game interception to help seal the win for the Mavericks.
The play of the day for the Mesa defense came late in the fourth quarter as Connor Wright returned a fumble 90 yards for a touchdown.
The lone touchdown for the Cowboys came on a Kenny Shanahan 75-yard-interception return in the fourth quarter.
The Mavericks go back on the road Saturday to Silver City, N.M. to take on Western New Mexico University, which lost to Colorado School of Mines, 43-0 Saturday. The Mustangs are 1-3 on the season and lost their only home game of the season. With a chance for Mesa to even its record, the Mavs return home Oct. 9 for Homecoming football against Fort Lewis College.
“We expect nothing less of an outing than what we had on Saturday,” Campbell said.
ahimes@mesastate.edu